This is an excerpt from our new book: The Wise Book of Whys, available in: Print | Kindle | Nook | Audiobook Today I found out why those aboard planes and ships use the word “Mayday” to indicate they are in extreme distress. In 1923, a senior radio officer, Frederick Stanley Mockford, in Croydon Airport in London, England was asked to […]
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Whenever there is a list released of the world’s most dangerous jobs, tree loggers, steelworkers, electrical power-line installers, and fisherman usually are the professions that populate the list. But none of those things are nearly as dangerous as being propelled out of a long cylinder tube, flown through the air completely untethered, and attempting to land safely on the ground. […]
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Seagulls, or gulls depending on how much you dislike syllables, are considered a pest to many, a minor, avoidable annoyance to many more and the harbingers of death OH GOD LOOK AT THEIR COLD DEAD EYES! to my neighbour who doesn’t get out much. Over the years, there has been a persistent and rather macabre urban myth circulating that gulls […]
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Today in History: January 17, 1950 On the night of January 17, 1950, a group of armed gunmen wearing blue suits, very similar to Brinks uniforms, and Halloween masks held up five employees at the Brinks building on Prince St. in Boston. They were instructed at gunpoint to lie on the floor facedown. Their mouths were taped shut and their […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the truth about whether lemmings actually commit mass suicide. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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Joh asks: Why is someone in charge called “the big cheese”? It’s amazing how many English idioms contain food references and cheese has proven to be immensely popular when it comes to the English language. For example, one may be “cheesed off”, meaning that they are miserable, annoyed, or angered. One may also refer to something as being “cheesy” in […]
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Justina asks: Why don’t figure skaters get dizzy after they spin? To understand why, it’s important to know why people get dizzy in the first place. Dizziness is controlled by the vestibular system in your upper inner ear. Within the vestibular system, there are three canals that contain fluid called endolymph, as well as sensory nerve cells that look sort […]
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Today in History: January 16, 1942 Carole Lombard was discovered at the age of 12 while playing baseball. director Alla Dwan was watching the game and stated he thought she was a “a cute-looking little tomboy … out there knocking the hell out of the other kids, playing better baseball than they were. And I needed someone of her type […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about how “Beam Me Up, Scotty” became a popular phrase despite the fact that it’s never actually uttered in the original Star Trek, as well as a few other interesting Star Trek facts. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by […]
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What if we told you that around 90 years ago an epidemic swept across the world that killed over a million people while affecting numerous others, before disappearing, leaving the finest scientific minds of the age absolutely stumped . Then what if we told you that when it didn’t kill you, this illness could instead potentially trap you inside your […]
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Masen P. asks: Where did the expression “have your cake and eat it too” come from? The idiom “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” deliciously illustrates the concept of making trade-offs and realizing that you can’t have something if you have another. The phrase is often used when referring to compromises and alludes to making a choice […]
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Today in History: January 15, 2001 Wikipedia is second only to Google when it comes to Internet sites we recognize most readily, and would cry the most copious tears over if for some reason it was cruelly taken away from us. The site gets 85 million unique visitors just from the U.S. every month. It’s hard to imagine life without […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the surprising origin of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company. Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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Greece is one of the most historically rich nations, with a culture and civilization that exceeds five thousand years of continuous human activity, producing such notable historical influencers as Alexander the Great, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Homer; it’s no wonder that some other individuals well-known throughout Greece remain unknown to other nations. One such individual is Athanasios Diakos who is […]
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In the 1920s, gang warfare threatened the streets of Chicago. In the midst of prohibition, mobsters were making a killing by providing alcohol to thirsty cityfolk from all walks of life. The infamous Al “Scarface” Capone ruled with an iron fist, and at his peak was earning an astounding $60 million per year (about $700 million today)—and yet he controlled […]
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Kevin asks: What would happen if you froze water, but the container was so strong the water couldn’t expand into ice? Some readers may recall a science class in which an excitable teacher walked to the front of the class to show off a small, cracked steel container, seemingly damaged by an incredibly powerful, but tiny force; only for said […]
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Today in History: January 14, 1129 Very little is known about origins of the Temple of Solomon or the Poor Knights of Christ, as the Knights Templar are also known. The information that made it down through the ages is minimal and often contradictory. The best evidence comes from a later source named Guillaume de Tyre, who claims that a […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn how a relatively minor event that nobody really cared about led to an equally small land skirmish that escalated into World War I. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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